Question About Cats? (whole)

[songinthewind7]

LOL
I had a cat one time that we got as a kitten and she was afraid of the scratching post we got her. We took her over and scratched her paws on it but she never got the hang of it. She wasn't much of a scratcher anyway. More of a lap cat most of the time.

[hopeful transplant]

Cats have a independent streak about them, to say the least. Duh - ya think? I got a scratching post for my cats, after the fact - they obliterated a really comfy chair that we had. It always seemed that they would hit it at night, when a mere 'ssshhhhttt' wouldn't do it, or when we were out. They wouldn't touch the post, I put catnip on it, liquid and herbal form, hung do-dads from it, tried everything except what Mortimer suggested. They would sniff it and walk away. I finally got a corrugated cardboard scratchy thing that sat on the floor, literally covered it with catnip and they loved it. Go figure...

[mortimer]

hopeful transplant wondered:

> ... I got a scratching post for my cats, ... obliterated
> a really comfy chair .... wouldn't touch the post, ...

You sit in the chair. You impart odors to the chair by doing
so. The cats love your smell. ( So does your dog, BTW. )

> .... tried everything except what Mortimer suggested.

You'll listen to me now, won't you?

My wife keeps telling me my clothes smell bad after I've worn
them all day, but I can put a sweaty shirt on the floor and the
cats will take turns rolling around on it.

Note that none of the rubbing done by a cat is "affection."
The moggie is marking its territory. The only sign of affection
a cat will give you is a head-butt. The rest is just marking.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Originally Posted by Poncho_NM

Thanks. Yes, I have a lot of problems with their hair. It's not that bad really if you work on it a bit each day. The smaller dog is a female and everything sticks to her hair due to static and she seems to shed all the time. At least she likes being brushed. The Larger dog, a male just has a lot of hair. They both get brushed at least partially once a day. Using the correct type of brush makes a difference. The male has matted undercoat when we got him. It took three good baths to get the matted hair removed.

My daughter has a Blue Heeler. The Heelers are pretty good dogs for this area.

Rich

Eek. I couldn't imagine dealing with all that hair matted. Poor guy, he must have felt so much better after the intensive grooming!

Our indoor heeler was a really intensive research project - I had to be sure the dog wouldn't want to herd the kids.
Luckily she is VERY calm and only heels the kids when they get loud and unruly. Did I mention that I really, REALLY like that dog?!?!?

[hopeful transplant]

Mortimer....LOL...I guess the term, "sit on it" has a new meaning....hahahaha. I'll try the clothing thing though if I ever get another cat, which I'm sure won't take too long. My hubby and I miss ours alot, and if I can make it an indoor cat right from the get go, I think we'll be OK. There's way too many big, bad, furry critters around here for an outdoor/indoor one.

[lisdol]

I saw those corrugated cardboard things at petsmart the other day. I bet if my cat still had his claws he would dig it. He still "scratches" cardboard boxes so I wonder if he would enjoy it anyway. Esp with the catnip.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by RamblinRoseRanch

Eek. I couldn't imagine dealing with all that hair matted. Poor guy, he must have felt so much better after the intensive grooming!

Our indoor heeler was a really intensive research project - I had to be sure the dog wouldn't want to herd the kids.
Luckily she is VERY calm and only heels the kids when they get loud and unruly. Did I mention that I really, REALLY like that dog?!?!?

I never fully understood the importance of properly brushing out the undercoat. It gets matted then pulls on the skin which cause sores. He also had a sunburned nose.

Yes Heelers will herd your kids It's interesting to observe the trait. The American Herding Breed Association sanctioned herding instinct testing for all herding breed dogs at the NM State Fair Grounds May 9-10. We are going to try and be there to see how our dogs do. Tucker did not do well on the "Lure" chasing as shown on this short video: MVI_8778.AVI on Vimeo

Tucker use to herd our shoes, moving them one at a time to different part of the house. The first time, I was startled, who the heck stole my shoes? Then I feared the typical chewed up shoes. No, Tucker just moved them around the house...

The other Collie, Stacey, paces. Walks around the entire house looking for things to herd. My daughters Heeler does the same.



Rich

[RamblinRoseRanch]

lol, at the shoe herder!


I knew I wanted a heeler, but it needed to be somewhat un-heeler-like. I found what has to be the most laid back heeler on earth. I wanted one to coexist with the kids and cats and not run 'em to death. Josey fits all those traits perfectly. It's kinda neat, when the kids get loud and rowdy and she snaps into herding mode they start telling her to stop it and leave them alone. I tell 'em she's just doin' her job and she'll quit herding when they calm down and quit acting like a buncha wild animals. Usually works.

She also *tries* to work the cats. Down on front legs, up on back, baring her teeth and SNEEZING, of all things. She does this when she wants to play, be it human or critter. Pops out a front paw and darts it at the target and begins sneezing at them, while baring her teeth. Gets her a giggle from the humans and a swat from the cats. :-)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by RamblinRoseRanch

lol, at the shoe herder!


I knew I wanted a heeler, but it needed to be somewhat un-heeler-like. I found what has to be the most laid back heeler on earth. I wanted one to coexist with the kids and cats and not run 'em to death. Josey fits all those traits perfectly. It's kinda neat, when the kids get loud and rowdy and she snaps into herding mode they start telling her to stop it and leave them alone. I tell 'em she's just doin' her job and she'll quit herding when they calm down and quit acting like a buncha wild animals. Usually works.

She also *tries* to work the cats. Down on front legs, up on back, baring her teeth and SNEEZING, of all things. She does this when she wants to play, be it human or critter. Pops out a front paw and darts it at the target and begins sneezing at them, while baring her teeth. Gets her a giggle from the humans and a swat from the cats. :-)

The down on the elbows with fanny sticking up in the air is the "Play with me" typical of amost all breeds!

The herding thing sounds like a riot! I am familiar with Border Collies/sheep, etc, but I didn't know that herding dogs would try to herd humans and objects.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at that one, LOL!!

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

The down on the elbows with fanny sticking up in the air is the "Play with me" typical of amost all breeds!

The herding thing sounds like a riot! I am familiar with Border Collies/sheep, etc, but I didn't know that herding dogs would try to herd humans and objects.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at that one, LOL!!

Oh it's a RIOT! She starts going in tighter circles and darting towards their ankles and back out again, yipping and barking the whole time.

I knew the play with me thing, but the sneezing thing while grimacing and hunkering was a hoot.